Two homeless after Bridgeport blaze

John Burgeson

Published 7:58 pm, Friday, February 7, 2014

Firefighter work to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter work to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter work to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter work to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter work to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter work to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter David Lenart works to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter David Lenart works to put out a fire in a building that...

Firefighter David Lenart works to put out a fire in a building that houses a storefront church and two second-floor apartments on the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Grove Street in Bridgeport, Conn. Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Firefighter David Lenart works to put out a fire in a building that...

Bridgeport firefighters on the scene of a house fire at 1222 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport, Conn. on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. The call came in shortly before noon at for a blaze at the 2 and one-half-story building at on Fairfield Ave., between Grove and Elmwood Place.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

BRIDGEPORT -- Two men are homeless after an apparent appliance fire got out of hand in a West End house.

The building, at 1222 Fairfield Ave., also houses a storefront church. It's across the street from Bassick High School, although classes were's affected by the commotion.

Officials said that the person making the first 911 call told authorities that there was someone trapped inside. A search of the burning building, including the attic, proved otherwise.

Jameel Sinclair, one of the two men forced into the street, told a reporter that he was using a small, portable electric oven when he left the room for a moment.

"I turned on the oven to cook some French fries, and I put it on a table inside the roommate's room who had left," he said. "I left the room, and I came back in because I could smell smoke. The whole room was on fire."

He said that he attempted to put out the fire himself, to no avail.

Jerovine Statum Jr., the building's only other resident, said that he was in the process of moving out when the noontime fire occurred. Both men lived on the second floor; the church used the ground floor. Both men said that were hoping to get their belongings.

The building appeared to suffer major damage. Firefighters had to chop a hole in the roof to vent smoke.

The sign on the front of the building identified it as the Fountain of Youth Ministries, although attempts to contact church leaders were unsuccessful.

The building was known for years as the Phouc Long Buddhist Temple, and that's still the owner, according to city records.

"We did an initial search in both the first and second floor and the attic," said Deputy Fire Chief Ismael Pomales.

He said that two more searches were made of the entire building to make sure there was no one trapped inside.

Two ladder companies and five engine companies responded.

The blaze upended the flow of traffic on the West End because Fairfield Avenue is the only easy westbound route in that part of town and traffic had to be diverted onto a labyrinth of side streets.

With snow piled to the side of walkways and streets, Pomales took the opportunity to remind residents to clear snow from fire hydrants.

"I can't emphasize that more," he said. "The home you save could be your own."